Just stumbled upon this article by a scholar, “What is Shen Yun, the Chinese dance troupe connected to the bomb threat at the Lodge?”, of someone is interested.
TL;DR: Shen Yun has been highly criticised by officials from China and has critics also abroad, but “the Chinese government’s sensitivity to Shen Yun reflects a broader strategic concern” as the article says:
Shen Yun is not simply performing culture. It is contesting China’s cultural authority. In Shen Yun’s performances, cultural authenticity is not created by the state. Instead, cultural authenticity is created by the diaspora and the people […] Western cultural venues – and today, the Lodge – have become key battlegrounds in this contest.
I’m no fan of Chinese repression, but that Shen Yun group is creepy ass cult bs that’s been given leave to continue existing only because they loudly decry communism. I’m immediately suspicious of anything they’re involved with.
I literally only know two things about them as of now:
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They’re a traditional Chinese dance troup who perform in Australia and other nations
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The Chinese government hates them and wants them shut down
So they sound pretty damn cool to me. Did they dance somebody’s kid into a well or something?
They’re ran by Falun Gong who are basically Chinese Scientology down to the weird alien stuff.
I am absolutely not a fan of any religious group, let alone of such ‘cults’ like Falun Gong or Scientology. But I think a bomb threat or similar criminal tactics are unlawful, no matter what.
We must also clearly say that the only reason why China frequently intimidates these groups is not their cult-like status but because they don’t pledge loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP has apparently no problem to collaborate, for example, with the Chinese mafias overseas as they protect each others interests, and the Chinese party-state heavily engages with criminal groups abroad to achieve its strategic objectives.
Weird alien stuff or not, there is no justification for a bomb threat in Australia or any other country.
Oh I’m not trying to say two wrongs make a right here, just giving some further context on Shen Yun/Falun Gong.
I didn’t mean it that way, all good.
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I’ve been to a Shen Yun performance before, it was pretty good, light entertainment – was a great date.
I’m not overly familiar with politics internal to China, but my impression is they’re sorta like Jehova witnesses over there, except the government also tries to stomp them out of existence fairly explicitly. But with more ties to pre-communist China culture (and Id ‘guess’ taiwan? idk).
